5 of the best accommodation options in the Flinders
- Ikara Safari Camp
Wilpena Pound Resort has been quietly welcoming discerning visitors since the 1950s, and Ikara Safari Camp, which opened in 2014, is a welcome addition.
In a secluded spot away from the main campground, 15 roomy tents with king-size beds, tiled bathrooms and timber decks are set among majestic red river gums and native pines.
With floorboards, solar power, running hot water, fluffy towels, bedside reading lights, fresh coffee, air-conditioning and gas heaters, every creature comfort is catered for.
Each tent faces the eastern wall of the Pound, a rocky, rust-coloured natural amphitheatre created by hundreds of millions of years of erosion.
At the camp breakfast is taken in a large, fully furnished communal tent, which also serves as a lounge.
MORE INFORMATION: Ikara Safari Camp
- Desert Cave Hotel
Some 850km north of Adelaide, remote Coober Pedy sits in the world’s richest opal field, attracting a strong population of miners and fortune hunters from all around the world to live there. But it experiences freezing nights and sweltering days and that has pushed life underground, where the temperature is a temperate constant.
At the Desert Cave Hotel visitors can experience “dugout” life. It’s a great four-star complex of underground accommodation, restaurants, shops, games area and bar and has above ground rooms for those wanting to experience underground life, but not sleep in it. There’s a nice pool, too.
MORE INFORMATION: Desert Cave Hotel
- Prairie Hotel
Parachilna has a population that oscillates from two to 200 depending on how many people are visiting the Prairie. The amazingly preserved outback pub, The Prairie Hotel, has held a licence since 1876 and today attracts people from far and wide, some of whom fly in just to have a beer on the fabled front verandah or just out on the road bordered by large old wooden troughs while leaning up against an old oak cask.
You can stay in the heritage landmark and experience life in South Australia’s unforgettable outback, with the rugged Flinders Ranges on one side and desert plains on the other.
The pub epitomises good old-fashioned outback hospitality and character while upholding a superb standard of comfort, service and food. Host Grant Rasheed provides a warm welcome and also curates the hotel’s extensive Aboriginal art collection. There’s often live country music entertainment, too.
MORE INFORMATION: Prairie Hotel
- Rawnsley Park Eco-Villas
Julie Smith and her husband Tony have created something very special at Rawnsley Park Station. It has been the family pastoral business for generations but since 1984, the family have also run a tourism enterprise.
The luxurious eco-villas are a true outback sanctuary. Located on a rise just a short drive from the reception building and affording stunning views of the region, the eco-villas are a gorgeous outback base. Large and super comfortably furnished they’re a quiet, cool, contemporary haven away from the desert heat.
Inside each villa there’s a fully-provisioned kitchen with Fleurieu milk and yoghurt as well as bread, fresh fruit and muesli for breakfast. There’s even a selection of Nespresso capsules for those keen on a caffeine hit.
Lying back in bed, a retractable blind slides back to reveal the night sky above. It would have to be the most comfortable way to sleep under the stars anywhere - safely ensconced in your outback sanctuary, cocooned in bed and the last memory of the evening being the stars flickering above as your eyelids flicker to close.
MORE INFORMATION: Rawnsley Park
- Gum Creek Station
On a ridgetop overlooking the rugged 540 million year old Flinders Ranges lies Gum Creek Lodge, the only accommodation providing such a window on the incredible, changing face of one of the oldest landscapes and habitats on Earth.
The environmentally sensitive and handsomely contemporary structure built from the traditional outback homestead materials of timber, corrugated iron and local stone has four ensuite bedrooms, each with their own verandah, a box seat to the changing landscape.
There’s a large fully equipped kitchen, dining and lounge area, with front deck and a rear courtyard with open fire place, wood-fired pizza oven and bar, all run with solar and wind energy and rainwater.
MORE INFORMATION: Gum Creek Station
